Candles in Autumn
by CutieCumberCookie
Summary: On the day known as All Saint's Day, Stretch goes to the cemetery to light candles in memory of the people in his previous life who have crossed over. Drabble. Takes place the morning after the movie: November 1st, 1995.


**...**

**Candles in Autumn**

** ...**

_He lit the last of the three candles and leaned back to admire the three single flickers of light._

Stretch McFadden came to Roadside Cemetery every year to pay his respects to three members of his family who-unlike himself, his two brothers and young nephew-had crossed over: his mother, Adelaide; his youngest brother, J.T.; and his cat, Scruff. Every November 1st he visited J.T.'s grave to light three candles in their memory.

Sometimes he'd talk and ask questions. Mainly questions aimed at J.T., usually involving Casper: about why he didn't stay behind to be there for his own son. Or he'd ask his younger but more mature brother for advice about how to take care of a nephew he'd grown cold toward... or would come to ask for forgiveness about it; that he still loved Casper despite how he acted toward him.

This year, however, Stretch was silent. No questions, no pleas for advice that usually went unanswered... Instead Stretch brought his transparent hand up, resting it against the cold tombstone. He ran his fingers along his brother's name that was carved into the stone. All that was written there was:

_Joseph-Thomas McFadden_

_1877 - 1909_

Stretch always found it unfair that that was all that was written on his brother's grave. If he and his other two brothers hadn't died around the same time... it would have been different. But the sad fact he'd come to accept was that no one had wanted to pay their respects to a man deemed _crazy_; a man hell-bent on 'bringing his son back from the dead'.

_'It ain't true... none of it was true... he wasn't crazy, he was never crazy... If only I'd known that at the time... things might have been different... especially now that I know the Lazurus __**does**__ work...'_

Stretch pulled his hand away, violet eyes flickering upward to the three candles sitting atop the tombstone.

'_One for Scruff... one for Ma... one for J.T.'_

There was a painful lump in his throat, and Stretch felt something wet slide down his cheeks. He let out an annoyed growl when he realized he was crying, and quickly wiped at his eyes. That was the last straw for him, his instincts telling him to just leave already. But he couldn't tear his gaze away from the three flickering lights, and the small bit of smoke rising up from them.

_'If I stay here any longer I might just fuckin' lose it... and I can't have the boys see me like this, or they might start askin' questions...'_

He stood up (or at least he would have, if he had legs to stand on).

_'But I have to say __**something**__...'_

He looked around the empty cemetery, feeling the smallest bit of relief that he had decided to come here so early in the morning; when the sky was still dark and the sun wasn't even up yet. There was more privacy at a time like this, enough so that he could speak his mind; to say how he really felt. To say something simple, yet meaningful: the _truth_.

"I miss you, guys..." the ghost said quietly, just loud enough in hopes that his three lost loved ones would be able to hear him. "Wherever you guys are, I miss you."

And as quickly as a life can be cut short, Stretch was gone, silently flying away from the cemetery.

* * *

**A/N: Wrote this because I haven't written on Fanfiction for a while, and today is All Saint's Day, which gave me this idea. **

**And yes, Scruff is Stretch's dead cat from my best friend and I's story called "See You in Health". And the reason he didn't mention his dad is because Stretch and his dad rarely got along, and while his father did love him... Stretch is a grudge-holder. But it's understandable.**

**And also, this takes place the morning after the Halloween party from the movie, meaning this story takes place on November 1st, 1995.**

**So yeah. Please review if you liked it! :D**

**P.S. Roadside Cemetery is an actual Cemetery in Friendship, Maine. Look it up. **


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